Anyone working on a startup – or an investor deck – knows that one of most important criteria to investors (besides what your company will do to ensure that they’ll see an exit at some point in their lifetime, or at all) is product-market fit, which is especially important at this juncture, given the downturn in the market. Although we will remind you once again that some of the biggest companies emerged during the worst of times.

That said, Big Tech is no more immune to the vagaries of the market and the importance of product-market fit than is anyone else, but one thing that they do have- so far – is deep pockets.

Does that really help? At Alphabet, “Revenue growth slowed to 6% from 41% a year earlier as the company contends with a continued downdraft in online ad spending,” said CNBC. It had missed analysts’ expectations. “CEO Sundar Pichai said in the statement that the company is “sharpening our focus on a clear set of product and business priorities,” while Ruth Porat, the finance chief, said “we’re working to realign resources to fuel our highest growth priorities.” So, does that mean so much for moonshots et al and, instead, sharpening the focus on what people do want, rather than what the company feels that they might or should want?

A lesson Meta would be wise to learn, considering that Zuckerberg himself lost over $100B of his wealth this year, dropping from being the third wealthiest person in the world to #33, as he continues to pour billions into his metaverse project, paying no attention to the non-existent user adoption but instead, to analysts, who, as with earning predictions, don’t seem to always get it right:

“McKinsey forecasts market value of $5 trillion by 2030, Citi says up to $13 trillion…while Canalyst claims that “Most Metaverse business projects will be dead by 2025,” The Register reported and speaking of bonfire of the vanities, does Zuckerberg really believe that in a few years’ time, people will be happily tethered to their monitors with yet another monitor on their heads in their home/remote offices, locked, like hamsters, in his virtual world? Talk about ideal working conditions…

Said The Register, “Meta is going hell for leather for one big idea that is delusional nonsense. Google’s strategy of letting a thousand flowers bloom is a recipe for a backyard filled with weeds. Both these things are illnesses of the rich; you have the luxury of doing things badly for a long time if the cash keeps flowing.”

 

Speaking of one-time darlings doing things badly, PayPal Censors Speech? Users Jump Ship After Questionable Policy Draft Leak. According to The Daily Signal, “popular online payment processor PayPal announced impending updates to its Acceptable Use Policies. Reported first by The Daily Wire, the policy update stated that it would debit users up to $2,500 if they engaged in banned activity such as “promot[ing] misinformation” or “hate,” effective Nov. 3… Even former PayPal President David Marcus tweeted out his criticism of the policy, saying, “@PayPal’s new AUP goes against everything I believe in. A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity!” So, while they have appointed themselves judge and jury – and they are being true to their word – there are cases where they will confiscate all the money in a so-called miscreant’s account – and users have no recourse.

Actually, they do, and note: PayPal Value Down $6 Billion, ‘Delete PayPal’ Searches Soar 1,300% After Daily Wire Report Exposes ‘Misinformation’ Policy.

 

Payback Is a Bitch

The Age of Social was heralded as the era of users in charge and now we’re seeing the socials et al suffering.  As we witness some of the overvalued/overinflated tech stocks of that era losing their luster, it’s easy to blame it on the downturn in advertising dollars but, given some of the policies they’ve implemented over the years, there’s perhaps another, equally important reason: they haven’t stayed relevant.

Product-market fit.

We even wonder if ‘too big to fail’ will hold in the tech world and do keep in mind that 1) it’s still a relatively new industry and 2) new and more relevant technologies come along all the time. Think TikTok.

Product/market fit is one of the basic of tenets of a successful company – producing technology that’s relevant and preferably, focused on the greater good. Think Facebook and their once at least stated mission was to bring the world closer together. Wrote another company in their IPO prospectus at the dawn of Web 2: “We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served—as shareholders and in all other ways — by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains,” prefaced by their one-time mantra: Don’t Be Evil.

Remember that as you sit heads down inventing the future, founders, and keep in mind, too, that if you believe that remote workers are going to spend their working hours sitting hamster-like in a virtual world while you’re raking in trillions of dollars, face it: you’re just spinning your wheels. Onward and forward.